Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,71
wrapped in a beautiful bow.
And if that means I have to wait to experience all she has to offer, I’d wait a damn near decade if I had to.
Because I’d rather take my own life than ever make her feel what those motherfuckers made her feel. If for one second, we start to go down that path, I would never forgive myself for putting her there.
I’d spend eternity in hell.
I brush my thumb over her puckered pout and quickly replace it with my lips before pulling away.
“Duty calls. Don’t go far.”
“Hey!” Her hand in mine jerks me back. “Let me get that.”
“You don’t have to serve old Earl. He’s practically able to get it himself.”
“I heard that, and I’ll have you know that I’m still a paying customer, even after all these years,” he barks back.
I cough out a short laugh. We both know he gets more booze for free than anyone in here except for Bill.
“Don’t give him a hard time, Alex. He’s one of my favorite customers,” Shelby chimes in. She slinks around me and sways her hips all the way to the counter.
If I didn’t know her as well as I do, I’d say it was intentional. Regardless, the show has me fighting getting hard.
I survey the other men around the bar, making sure they aren’t enjoying her more than they should be. She doesn’t appear to be on the receiving end of any lewd stares. I’m just glad I’m on the only one with a view from the back.
Since there’s a lull in the evening, not unusual for a Tuesday, I approach Elias in his dark corner.
“Been here long?”
“Long enough,” he returns.
“What’s that supposed to me?” I lean over the bar in his direction.
“Stand down, brother.”
“I think it’s you that needs to stand down. You got a problem, say it.”
He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. “No problem, but I can use a drink.”
“Bullshit,” I grind out. Reaching behind me, I snag a bottle of vodka from the middle shelf and a shot glass. I pour a hefty glug and slide the glass over. “Talk.”
Elias shoots it back in one swallow and passes it back with a look that says another. I send a refill, and he tosses it back. “Thanks,” he mutters.
I pour another but keep it near me. When I look back up, I follow his gaze over to Shelby. He’s looking at her with that same questioning look.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Nope,” I answer honestly.
He jerks back and swings his eyes to me. “For real?”
I shrug. “Doin’ the best I can, but I think we both can agree this shit isn’t my forte.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“Thanks, asshole.”
Finally, he cracks a grin. “She’s different.”
It’s my turn to look at Shelby where she’s trading laughs with Bill and Earl. Her long hair looks silky in the overhead bar lights as she throws her head back in amusement at something Bill said. The old flirt.
“Yeah.”
A quick pause. “You’re different, and before you say anything, I’m fucking glad to see it.”
“It’s because of her,” I admit quietly.
“Yeah.”
He turns back to look at her too. I pick up the already poured shot and toss it back. Drinking on the job is generally frowned upon, but I’m the boss, and I feel the need to toast Elias’s observation.
“Happiness looks good on her.”
“On you too, brother.”
“Time will tell,” I mutter, my voice filled with the skepticism that lives in my bones like a mold.
Above the twenty or so voices raised in conversation, a shout is heard loud and clear.
“Chloe?”
As we both see Shelby stiffen, Elias and I take a millisecond to exchange a glance before moving into action.
“Hey, Chloe, is that you?”
A middle-aged white man with peppered hair and a beer gut walks into view, his squinty eyes searching Shelby’s pale face.
Fuck.
“Get her out of here.” I snarl at Elias. He dives over the partition without lifting it just before I make it there and fling the piece of wood open so hard it cracks against the other side with a loud bang. From the corner of my eye, I see Bill and Earl stand from their stools and form a wall between Shelby and this fucker who has his eye on her.
“Hey, out of my way,” the jackass asks the two older men, but neither of them budges. I’ll have to remember to give them both a bottle of top-shelf booze after this.
That thought flits through my mind because I finally make